A lovely rose always has thorns
by Yoshiko Kyoda
Summary: When Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei are sent to do a simple slaythedemon mission, things get a lot more complicated than they seem. R&R!
1. One

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or the characters.

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**A lovely rose always has thorns**

**Chapter One**

Hiei could sense the demon somewhere in the dark ocean. He wasn't the only one either. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama all felt it too. Everyone stood by the ocean shore with anticipation, waiting for the demon to appear. Hiei couldn't help but smirk as he sensed how low the demon's power was.

"Why are we here again, Urameshi?" Kuwabara asked stupidly.

"You fool, you've forgotten already? We're here because a demon has been terrorizing humans and it's our job to exterminate it." Hiei replied before Yusuke could answer.

"Shaddap, shrimp. I didn't ask you." Kuwabara snapped.

"You two should stop fighting and be alert, the demon is getting closer." Kurama advised softly.

Hiei obediently stopped and glanced at Kurama. The fire demon wondered how Kurama could always be so calm, clever, and elegant.

There wasn't much time to ponder however, because the shape shifting water demon emerged from the ocean and charged at Hiei from his left. The demon had scaly blue skin with gills on its neck and its only weapons were the sharp claws that were the length of the demon's hand.

Smirking, Hiei drew his katana. "Let me handle this one!"

Yusuke and Kurama backed away to give him some room but Kuwabara stood firmly where he was. "No way! I want my share of this demon and I'll imagine it's your head." Kuwabara cracked his knuckles.

"Just stay out of my way!" Hiei ordered.

"Tch, yeah right."

The demon lunged at Hiei, but he dodged it easily. The blade Hiei wielded sliced open the demon's right shoulder and the crimson fluid dripped down Hiei's sword and splattered on the ground. It shrieked in pain then made another attempt to injure Hiei.

"Watch out, Hiei!" Yusuke shouted from the sidelines. "Koenma warned us that this demon has the ability to sense its opponent's weakness and then use it against them!"

Hiei dodged another blow without much effort. "I'll make a note of that." He said even though he didn't think he _had_ a weakness, so it didn't worry him at all.

The demon hopelessly tried to injure Hiei but the fire youkai was too fast. _This fight is too boring_, Hiei thought, _how could a demon so weak cause so much trouble for the pathetic ningens? Oh scratch that…_

Seeing that it could not inflict injury on Hiei, it turned to the others for a slower opponent. The water demon caught sight of Kurama and launched itself towards him instead. Kurama was too busy watching Hiei to notice the change in the demon's target so it collided with Kurama and knocked the wind out of him. Then its sharp foot-long-claws stabbed the redhead in the stomach. The fox demon coughed up blood and was too weak to scream.

Hiei froze in fear. _No not Kurama!_ He screamed in his head.

"You're gonna pay, you bastard!" Hiei raised his sword.

The demon yanked its claws out of Kurama's flesh along with some of his innards. The weakened Kurama fell to the ground and before Hiei could strike the demon with a final blow, it sensed Hiei's one and only weakness…

It took on the appearance of Kurama, making Hiei stop dead in his tracks. Hiei hesitated; he could never strike Kurama… not even a fake one. But only a moment's hesitation was needed for the fake Kurama to pull out a rose and attack with razor sharp pedals and thorns. The pedals easily sliced through his body and Hiei yelled in pain while blood seeped down the front of his clothes his front.

"Rose Whip Thorn Wheel!" The real Kurama shouted after gaining some of his strength back.

Badly injured, the demon looked around to everyone, and gave a sad look at Hiei. Angrily, Hiei struggled to get to his feet and stampeded at the demon. Panicked and cornered, the demon gathered all its spirit energy as a last resort and released it at everybody within a certain radius. A blinding flash and blood curdling scream made everyone fear what they would see when the light vanished.

When everything cleared, the demon stood almost dead and Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara were unharmed. There was nothing left of Hiei, except for his sword which stuck up out of the ground by the blade. The dying demon had blood oozing from wounds and patches of read hair were missing from its head. In its present state it looked like a very ugly cross between Kurama and a water demon. Everybody was overcome by shock that Hiei was dead.

Yusuke shook with anger and glared at the demon standing before him. "You… you bastard! I'll send you to hell!" Pissed off, the spirit detective charged up his spirit gun and aimed for the demon's heart. "Die! SPIRIT GUN!"

Another blinding flash ensued and when the light was gone, so was the demon…

**TO BE CONTINUED**

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I hope the chapter wasn't too short. I'll have the next chapter up soon. Please review or you might not know what happens next!


	2. Two

Chapter Two

"You… you bastard! You'll pay!" He charged up his spirit gun and aimed for the demon's heart. "Die! SPIRIT GUN!" Another blinding flash ensued and when the light was gone, so was the demon. Everything quieted until only the ocean waves could be heard lapping against the shore. Yusuke collapsed onto his knees, a single tear falling to the earth. 

"I can't believe he's gone…" Kuwabara mumbled. Even though he and Hiei always fought, it wouldn't be the same without the shrimp around.

            A light breeze blew through Kurama's long hair; his bangs covered his eyes. "My friend… I-I'm sorry… I couldn't save you…" _This can't be happening. Why? It has to be a bad dream!_ Kurama's head swirled with the cruel truth, while his heart felt empty. Some distance away, sticking straight up from the ground, was Hiei's sword. Noticing it, Kurama picked it up and walked into the nearby forest.

            "Hey! Where are you going?" Kuwabara started to follow Kurama.

            "Wait, Kuwabara. I think Kurama needs some time alone." Yusuke stood.

            Kuwabara stopped and watched Kurama's back disappear into the forest. "They were really good friends weren't they?" Yusuke nodded. Kuwabara snorted. "And now the runt is gone…"

            Yusuke glared at Kuwabara. "You hate Hiei, don't you? Even though we've all be working together and fighting for so long, you always hated him?" Kuwabara turned away to hide his tears and blew his nose on his sleeve. Yusuke sweat dropped. _Even Kuwabara misses Hiei? Then again, he was important to everyone and saved us all several times. Hiei never showed his gentler side, but you could tell it was there. _Yusuke sat down on a rock and waited for Kurama to return and Kuwabara to get a hold of himself.

Deep inside the forest, Kurama sat on his knees with his head bowed in respect. Hiei's sword lay in his lap. He stroked the sword absentmindedly. Kurama's eyes were closed as he listened to the wind. Memories came back to Kurama. When the two of them first met. How they had fought side-by-side for so long. Everything they had gone through. Hiei and Kurama laughing after a tough battle. Kurama laughed softly as he remembered the time when Hiei had ice cream for the first time, Hiei always called it sweet snow. Kurama sighed, _now he's gone… there will be no more good times…_

            "Why are you so sad?" asked a small, gentle voice.

            "Hiei is gone… " Kurama mumbled without remembering he was the only one there. He looked up and around him but saw nothing. _Was I hallucinating?_ Kurama sighed and gazed at his lap. Two arms wrapped around Kurama to comfort him. Startled, Kurama jumped to his feet and spun around, Hiei's sword in his hand. A small girl a little shorter than Kurama smiled gently to him. She had long brown hair with cool blue eyes. Her clothes were simple and were a soft green. "Who are you?" Kurama questioned.

            She bowed. "I am Satsuki Ota. It's nice to meet you." Kurama didn't know whether he should trust this girl or not, she looked innocent enough. "You look so alone and sad." The girl snapped Kurama out of his thoughts. "You're wounded too!" She squealed in a worried voice. Kurama hadn't paid much attention to his wounds until then, and he finally realized just how much pain he was in. The wound in his stomach was getting worse and he was losing a lot of blood. Light-headed from blood loss, Kurama collapsed and Satsuki caught him. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you… no one will bother you anymore," she added in an undertone. "Not even Hiei…" With that, Satsuki carried Kurama to her house.

Yusuke looked at his watch impatiently. Kuwabara was still sobbing. "Where is Kurama? Why's he taking so long?" The sun was already setting and the sky grew steadily darker. "Wait! Kurama was badly injured! What if he feinted or something? No… guys don't feint they pass out… anyway, he could be in those woods dying as I speak. Kuwabara, pull yourself together. We need to go look for Kurama." Kuwabara stopped his sobbing and followed Yusuke into the forest.

***TO BE CONTINUED***

I'm really sorry if the chapters aren't long enough. But I'm serious, if I don't start getting more reviews I'm not gonna finish this story! 


	3. Three

Chapter Three

Miles and miles away from where Yusuke and Kuwabara were, along a different beach walked a young girl with long, soft blue hair and deep blue eyes. Simple traveling clothes hung from her slender body. A green jewel dangled from her necklace and two knives were secured to her waist. She seemed to be looking for something when a silhouette in the water caught her eye. Nightfall had long since fallen, making it difficult for her to distinguish the figure in the water. Curious, she approached the figure cautiously. Wading into the shallow water, the girl realized that the water surrounding the figure was bloody. The form was floating face down in the water, so she turned it face up. His face was a sickly pale. A white headband was falling off from around his head, revealing a third eye beneath his black bangs. "Hiei…" the girl breathed quietly. Carefully, she lifted him from the water and headed toward a small fisherman hut on the beach.

Else where, in the forest. "Kurama! Kurama, can you hear me?" Yusuke and Kuwabara called into the night. Out of nowhere, a girl wearing a pink kimono, her blue hair back in a ponytail, riding a boat oar appeared.

"Yusuke, there you are." Botan smiled cheerfully.

Startled by her sudden appearance, a large vein pulsed in Yusuke's head. "Botan! Don't you know how to knock? What are you doing here anyway?"

"My, my, such a friendly welcome." Botan said sarcastically. "I just came to congratulate you guys for your defeat of that demon."

"Is that all?" Yusuke asked irritably. "We don't deserve any congratulating, Hiei died in the fight and now Kurama's missing."

A question mark danced around Botan's head. "Really? I wasn't informed of Hiei's death? Are you sure he died?"

This made Yusuke even angrier. "Of course I'm sure! He vanished right before our eyes! Not even a slight trace was left of him!"

"Hmmm… I'll ask Koenma about this. As for Kurama, I'm sure he's fine so don't worry. Oh! And speaking of Koenma, he wanted to speak with you and Kuwabara about something very important."

"What does the toddler want now?" 

"It's Koenma! Not 'toddler'. But he didn't tell me anything. Just to bring you two as quickly as possible." Botan replied.

 "What's so important anyway?" Yusuke asked irritably. 

"I don't know, Koenma didn't tell me." _Probably because she's a blabbermouth,_ Yusuke thought. "C'mon, let's get going!"

"Alright, alright." Gave in Yusuke.

"I wonder what the shrimp wants." Said Kuwabara to no one in particular.

Giving Kuwabara a weird look, Yusuke asked, "Is it just me, or do you have a grudge against short people?"   

Laughing his weird and retarded laugh, Kuwabara replied, "Yes. Everyone shorter than me gets on my nerves. Including you, Urameshi." He looked around but Yusuke and Botan had left. "Hey wait guys! Don't leave me here! This forest is giving me the creeps." Kuwabara shuddered. "Oh no, not the tickle feeling!" He runs off after the others.

Kurama's wounds were slowly beginning to heal with the aid of Satsuki. His room was dark and quiet but Kurama lay awake in his bed. A little moonlight filtered into the room from the window above his head. Tears had collected at the corners of his eyes and occasionally streamed down his cheek. _Hiei had survived so much, how could he die just like that?_ Kurama blinked and another tear went down his face. He was the only true and close friend that Kurama ever had. Sure Yusuke and Kuwabara were-

"Yusuke! Kuwabara! I was so caught up in my grief that I forgot all about them!" Kurama sat up quickly but groaned as the pain in his stomach spread throughout the rest of his body. Slowly, Kurama lay back down carefully.

"Kurama?" Satsuki peeked into Kurama's room to check on him. Softly, she tiptoed to his bedside and sat down on the bed. "Your face is all sweaty." Satsuki gently wiped off his face with a wet clothe and even in the darkness Kurama could see a kind smile on her cute face.

"Why are you helping me?" Kurama asked suspiciously.

Her smile twitched slightly. "Don't worry about it."

"Why do you help me?" Kurama repeated.

Satsuki frowned. "Do not concern yourself with it." As if by some spell, Kurama drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Back in Spirit World…

"What's this about, you toddler?" Yusuke questioned impatiently.

"I told you not to call me that!" Koenma pouted. "Maybe I won't tell you the urgent news."

"But Koenma, sir, you have to tell them." Spoke up a nearby ogre.

"Humph!" Koenma folded his arms. "Fine! Well, bad news Yusuke, that troublesome shape shifting water demon wasn't killed in your last battle."

"No way!" exclaimed Kuwabara (who finally caught up to them).

"Why don't these stupid demons stay dead?" growled Yusuke. "That bastard killed Hiei and got away with it."

"Hiei's death is uncertain and so are the whereabouts of Kurama. As for the demon, we are certain it took on a new form." Koenma explained.

"How can we tell if we ran into the demon but didn't recognize it in its new form?" wondered Yusuke. "It could be anyone or anything."

"Well, it _is_ a water based demon. So it will be afraid of fire of any form." Suggested Koenma.

Yusuke thought for a minute. "No wonder it wanted to kill Hiei, he's a fire demon."

"Wait, I'm lost… what does the runt have to do with fire? What are we talking about again?" Kuwabara asked confused. Everyone ignored him.

"Precisely Yusuke." Koenma replied. "But our main goal at the moment is to find Kurama and Hiei if he's still alive. Where did you last see Kurama?"

"He went into the forest by the ocean where the battle was." Yusuke responded.

"Then that's where we'll start looking…"

Everything was dark. The only sound was the chirping of distant birds and the soft sound of water. A pleasant smell of salt and fresh air reached his nostrils as his conscious slowly awakened. Trying to recollect everything that happened, he became aware that his body felt very numb and weak. The sound of small footsteps was coming closer.

An unfamiliar voice spoke to him. "Oh good, you're awake. I was worried. How do you feel, Hiei?"

Hiei blinked in the bright sunlight outside of the small fishing hut. It took several seconds for his eyes to adjust. A strong breeze blew through his black hair as he carefully sat up. A girl sat crouched next to him. "Who are you?" Hiei's voice was cold and suspicious. 

"I asked you a question first, Hiei-san." The girl grinned.

This girl was getting on his nerves. "I've felt better." Hiei replied bitterly. "Now you answer, who are you?"

"Kumiko Uchida is my name." Kumiko answered cheerfully.

"Feh, that's nice. I'll be going now." Hiei tried to stand but was too weak and injured. He reached for his sword to help support himself, only to realize it wasn't there anymore. Unbalanced, he fell back to the ground and some of his wounds reopened.

"You should be careful." Kumiko warned. "You're still healing."

"So it would seem." Hiei panted. "You, ningen, what did you do with my sword?"

Kumiko shrugged. "I never saw a sword."

Thinking back, Hiei remembered everyone being sent out to kill a demon that was causing a lot of trouble. He fought with the demon until it attacked Kurama… then he must have been attacked and that was all he remembered. _Did everyone just leave without me?_ _How is Kurama? Did he die? No! He couldn't have!_ Hiei felt a pain as if he had been stabbed in the chest and he inhaled sharply.

"Are you okay?" Kumiko asked, concern on her face.

"Never mind about me, do you know what happened to Kurama?" _Of course she wouldn't know, you fool, she doesn't even know who Kurama is!_

"Ah Kurama… he has red hair does he not?" Kumiko asked.

"Uh, y-yes, he does." Hiei stuttered at her knowing who Kurama was.

"Oh yeah… _him_. He let the monster injure you and left you for dead. All the others did too." Kumiko said darkly.

_Nani?! Kurama left me for dead? The others abandoned me? That _has_ to be a lie!_ "You're lying ningen!" Hiei shouted.

"If I am, then why did they take your sword?" Kumiko questioned menacingly.

Hiei froze. Kumiko had a point. Kurama would never take his sword… unless he _did_ want Hiei dead and stole the sword. "How can this be? I… I thought they were my friends. And Kurama was the closest friend I ever had. Even more than a brother."

***TO BE CONTINUED***

If you have any suggestions to my story, feel free to say something. See ya next chapter!


	4. Four

Chapter Four

Hiei was brooding in his angry mood as Kumiko stared at him. A twisted smile was beginning to curl on her lips. The green jewel around her neck began to pulsate and glow. Kumiko gasped in surprise and glanced around frightfully. Noticing her strange behavior, Hiei looked up. "Is something wrong?"

            "Something's coming." Kumiko wouldn't say what. "I need to get you someplace safe!"

            "We're lost aren't we?" Kuwabara asked.

            "Well… not exactly…" Yusuke replied. "This is about the area where the battle took place."

            Kuwabara looked around and saw a figure standing by the seashore. "Who's that?"

            Yusuke glanced over at the figure and a chill went down his spine. "I have a bad feeling about this." Yusuke muttered. Tentatively, Yusuke and Kuwabara approached the figure. "Who are you?" demanded Yusuke.

            "I am known by many names." The figure responded. "But my current form goes by the name, Kumiko Uchida." Her hands rested on the two long knives strapped to her waist.

            Realization dawned on Yusuke. "You're that damn water demon!"

            "Hmph, call me what you want." Kumiko snorted in contempt.

            Yusuke growled. "You… you killed Hiei, didn't you?"

            "I most certainly did not!" Kumiko snapped defensively, she grinned evilly. "Enough talk, let's play." Without warning she sprang towards Yusuke, both knives drawn. Surprised, Yusuke jumped back missing her first blow. _She's fast!_ Yusuke thought. Kumiko spun herself and the other blade was driven deep into Yusuke's back. Coughing up blood, Yusuke tried to move away from her. (A/N: I'm sorry if my fights are really confusing and you get lost, this is the first time I've done this! ^^") Kuwabara called his spirit sword and charged at Kumiko while Yusuke kept his distance. Kuwabara's sword grinded against the first knife and the second one trapped his sword in her grip. While he tried to break free, Kumiko high-kicked him in the jaw. A sickening crack was heard as some of Kuwabara's teeth chipped and his jaw broke. A muffled yell of pain, escaped Kuwabara. Staggering backwards, Kuwabara spat out several teeth. Before he could recover, Kumiko launched herself at him. Each knife pierced his gut. She spread her arms to their full length, dragging the knives out of Kuwabara nearly cutting him in two. With a dull thud, the dying Kuwabara fell to the ground. The light in his eyes began to fade and a pool of blood and guts spilled out of him.

            "Spirit gun!" Yusuke yelled.

            Kumiko had been so distracted with Kuwabara; she hadn't noticed Yusuke charging his spirit gun. The blast tore through her and a dust cloud rose around her. Several minutes passed in a tense silence. Yusuke relaxed and ran over to Kuwabara. "Hang in there Kuwabara! I'll get help!" Yusuke turned to leave and find Botan when out of the now settling dust cloud appeared Kumiko. Her traveling clothes were ripped and torn. The sun glinted on the metal breastplate armor she wore under her clothes. A single crack ran across the armor.

            "You tried to kill me with that attack before…" Kumiko growled menacingly.

            Kumiko crouched and sprang high into the air. Sunlight shined off her armor and knives. Yusuke stepped back, warily. Kumiko twisted her body. "Water cyclone blades!" Spinning water engulfed Kumiko and dove at Yusuke. He was hit with the force of a bus, knocking the wind out of him and he collided against a tree. Gasping for breath, he inhaled a great deal of water. Sharp knives cut through his flesh repeatedly until the water around him ran thick with blood. The water disappeared and Yusuke collapsed onto the ground. Kumiko stood over him, a knife positioned to pierce Yusuke's heart. Sensing something, Kumiko looked in the direction of the forest. Glancing back at Yusuke once last time, Kumiko fled into the forest, leaving both Yusuke and Kuwabara near death.

            "Yusuke!" Botan flew out of the sky on her boat oar.

            "Botan, Kuwabara's dying!" Yusuke exclaimed.

            "Don't worry, I'll take care of him." Botan used her white healing magic to heal Yusuke. "Koenma needs to talk to you. Hurry!" Yusuke nodded and left.

***TO BE CONTINUED***

Hope you liked this chapter… even if my fights suck… Next chapter a lot of the mysteries will be revealed.


	5. Five

Chapter Five

"What is it _now_, Koenma?! You better have some information on howda kill this demon! It nearly killed both me and Kuwabara!" Yusuke rampaged as he stomped into Koenma's office.

            "Calm yourself Yusuke." Koenma responded. "I have some valuable information for you concerning the demon… but unfortunately I don't know how to kill it." Yusuke waited impatiently. "Well… I'm not sure I know how to put this into words…"

            "Spit it out Koenma!" Yusuke yelled angrily. "For all I know, Kuwabara is dead and so is Kurama and Hiei!"

            "I am not dead Yusuke." Replied a calm all-too-familiar voice.

            Yusuke spun around to come face to face with Kurama. "Kurama! But… how… what…?" was all Yusuke could manage to say. He was speechless.

            "Perhaps _I_ should explain." Said a small voice as Satsuki walked up by Kurama's side. "I am Satsuki Ota. And I happen to know loads of information about Kumiko the sly water shifting demon." Yusuke nodded, telling her to continue. "Kumiko… is in _love_ with Hiei."

            "What the hell?!" Yusuke shouted. "How can that be?! If she was the same water demon from before, she wanted to kill Hiei!"

            "Ah, but you see, she didn't. That is because of a _very_ important factor. The instant that Kumiko sensed Hiei's weakness," Satsuki paused and glanced up at Kurama. "She of course took the form of the one person Hiei would never hurt. But also, because she took the form of Kurama, she kinda got some of his personality… or feelings…" Satsuki trailed off.

            "I'll believe that when Kuwabara and Hiei get along peacefully!" Yusuke laughed. "How can she have Kurama's feelings or personality when he's so nice?"

            "Well," continued Satsuki. "Kumiko is evil no doubt, so that's not from Kurama. But what is, is Kurama's _feelings_ for Hiei." At the same time Kurama and Satsuki blushed.

            There was a long stretch of silence. "Oh I get it…" Yusuke said softly. "Well! Continue."

            "Right. So now Kumiko loves Hiei and would do almost anything for him. The one thing Kumiko wants to do most at the moment, is kill Kurama. Since eliminating Kurama would give her more of a chance with Hiei." Satsuki narrowed her eyes in anger. "But we have to stop her before that happens!"

            "Um… FYI… we _would_ stop Kumiko if we _knew_ where she was!" Yusuke snapped.

            "I know where Kumiko is." Satsuki replied calmly.

            Kumiko rushed through the forest until she found Hiei, right where she left him. Hiei looked up as she approached. "You're hurt." He stood and walked up to Kumiko.

            She smiled. "I'm alright. I guess I need to change though, my clothes are in shreds." Kumiko went over to a pile of stuff and started digging for new clothes, her armor glinted in the sunlight. 

            Hiei watched her. A large scar across her right shoulder caught his eye. "How did you get that scar?" he gestured to the one on her shoulder.

            "Oh…" Kumiko didn't respond at first. "I got it in my last battle, it was a tough one… I almost didn't win. But they say you shouldn't focus on the battle but the war, so everything will be better in the long run." Her voice had a certain hint in it but Hiei didn't catch it. Before Hiei could ask her anything else, Kumiko left and came back shortly after, changed in new clothes. In one arm she carried her armor and in the other her two long knives. Kumiko sat down across from Hiei and a long peaceful silence passed. Averting her eyes from his, Kumiko asked, "Is there someone you love Hiei?"

            Rather taken aback with this question, Hiei blushed slightly. "Well um… I guess there is _one_ person that I love…"

            Kumiko seemed hurt. "Oh… I see…" Another long pause. "What do you think of me?"

            "Well, um… you're very nice and kind… you also seem like a very strong fighter…" Hiei trailed off.

            "Anything else?" Kumiko persisted.

            "No…" Hiei said blankly.

            "Are you sure?" Kumiko persisted further.

            "Yes! I'm sure!" Hiei snapped. Kumiko looked down and Hiei could tell he hurt her feelings. "I-I'm sorry." Hiei looked away and glanced up again. Kumiko's deep blue eyes met Hiei's red ones. Hiei was so shocked by what she did next, Kumiko leaned closer to him and kissed him lightly on the lips. 

            "Hey you psychotic demon! Get your filthy mouth away from Hiei!" Yusuke yelled as he charged at her.

            Grinning evilly, Kumiko stepped out of the way and a blade cut deep into Yusuke's stomach, blood flooded heavily and Yusuke stumbled backwards. _Damn! She's too fast, I didn't even see her draw her blade… wait a minute!_ Kumiko was unarmed. Yusuke looked around for some other explanation and saw the owner of the blade was Hiei! "Leave her alone." Hiei whispered menacingly.

***TO BE CONTINUED***

The story will be over in one or two more chapters! I hope you liked it so far! ^_^


	6. Six

Chapter Six

            "Hiei! What are you doing?!" Yusuke demanded in shock.

            Hiei's eyes were empty and only anger lingered in his eyes. "You will not harm Kumiko."  Hiei snarled.

            Yusuke's eyes widened. _What's happened to Hiei?!_ "Yusuke!" Satsuki called out. "Hiei is under a spell."

            Kumiko glared at Satsuki. "What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Satsuki didn't reply but returned an angry glare of her own. A twisted smile appeared on Kumiko's face. "Now Hiei, destroy the one you love most. Kill Kurama!" Kurama drew his rose whip and turned to Kumiko. With a mere flick of his wrist, the whip came up and was going to crash hard on Kumiko's skull. Hiei used the knife he had drawn from Kumiko (A/N: I forgot in the last chapter that he didn't have his sword ^^") and blocked the whip's path. The whip wrapped itself around the sword and Kurama yanked it from Hiei's hands. Kumiko slipped her armor on quickly. Her hand was drawing her other knife when Kuwabara held his spirit sword under her throat. 

            "Reach for your sword and you die!" Kuwabara threatened.

            Kumiko grinned in amusement. "Then go ahead and kill me!" She reached for her knife as Kuwabara thrust his sword threw her throat. A blade was forced up threw Kuwabara's rib cage and pierced his lung. Gasping, Kuwabara tried to breath and choked on blood that trickled down from his mouth. Glimpsing at Kumiko, Kuwabara saw the green jewel around her neck glow and her neck was healed.

            "Kuwabara! Her necklace contains her soul! If you destroy it, you'll kill Kumiko!" Satsuki called from the sidelines.

            "_You_!" Kumiko growled. "You should've stayed dead!"

            Hiei commenced his fight with Kurama; his fist connected with Kurama's jaw and sent him flying. Hiei's sword that had been hanging from Kurama's waist fell to the ground and Hiei knelt down and picked it up. "So it's true! You left me for dead and stole my sword!"

            Kurama got to his feet and wiped away the blood from his lip. "That's not true! I took it because I thought you were dead!"

            "Lies!" Hiei spat and charged at Kurama.

            Meanwhile, Kumiko charged at Satsuki but Yusuke and Kuwabara stood in her path. "Let's double team her and destroy that jewel!" Yusuke exclaimed. Kuwabara was very weakened but refused to give up, he nodded in agreement. They both came at her at the same time and Kumiko back flipped out of their way. Her other knife lay on the ground a few feet away from her. Before either Yusuke or Kuwabara could stop her, she grabbed it was fully equipped for her fight. Instead of fighting, Kumiko sheathed her swords. With a cocky grin on her face she held out both her hands and laced her middle and ring fingers together, her index and pinky fingers forming a diamond. (A/N: This is supposed to be some kind of Ninjutsu)

            "Icicle Diamond Assault!" Kumiko yelled and huge, sharp icicles appeared and flung themselves at Yusuke and Kuwabara. This last attack had Kuwabara down for good, but Yusuke refused to give up. Taking her completely off by surprise, Yusuke clenched his fist and punched Kumiko in the jaw hard. Kumiko was sent backwards a few yards. Getting to her feet, she smirked and wiped the blood from her lips. "Hasn't anyone taught you manners? You shouldn't hit a lady."

            Yusuke grinned and laughed. Kumiko thought he had gone insane. "You really don't see, do you?" Yusuke held up the green jewel that had once hung around Kumiko's neck. She gasped and Yusuke took the jewel in his fist and crushed it. Nothing happened to Kumiko, she stood there angrily and drew her knives for another attack. Yusuke started to sweat. _What's going on?! I thought she was supposed to die if the jewel was destroyed!_ Something else caught both Yusuke's and Kumiko's attention. They turned back to the fight between Kurama and Hiei, both were badly injured. Hiei blinked several times. 

            "W-what's going on? Why are you hurt Kurama?" Hiei looked at Kurama who was bleeding a lot and his injuries were taking their toll on him. Then Hiei glanced down at his sword and realization dawned on him, the sword was covered in Kurama's blood! Kumiko was looking back and forth from Hiei to her crushed jewel.

            "No… my spell is broken…" Kumiko whispered in a shaky voice.

            Hiei spun around and looked Kumiko dead in the eye. "How dare you! You'll pay for this you demon slime!" Hiei raised his sword in a challenge.

            Kumiko was starting to panic. Her eyes were wide with fear and she narrowed them at everyone except Hiei. "I'll get you all!" Kumiko's gaze stopped on Kurama and her eyes were filled with rage. "You'll die first!" Kumiko sprang into the air and dived at Kurama, everyone was too stunned to do anything. About a foot away from Kurama's skull, Satsuki jumped in front of him and used a powerful wind attack on Kumiko. Sent back hurling through the air, Kumiko screamed in pain as she hit a nearby tree. Her slim form crumpled on the forest floor. Hiei advanced on Kumiko, his sword dripping with blood and ready to cut through Kumiko's flesh. She looked up into Hiei's eyes, her faced streamed with tears. Before Hiei could strike the final blow, Kumiko pulled out one of her knives and turned the blade towards her heart. Hiei paused in shock. "I refuse to die by your hands… I never want to hate you for it…" Kumiko choked through tears and thrust the blade into her chest. Her form fell to the forest floor, shoving the blade deeper into her flesh. For a while Hiei stood over the lifeless form in shock. 

            Satsuki looked upon the dead form of Kumiko sadly, with pity in her eyes. Kurama fell to one knee, his wounds finally getting to him. "Kurama!" Hiei exclaimed and ran to Kurama's side. Kurama was turning cold and was bleeding too much. "Kurama!" Hiei yelled out again. "C'mon Kurama, you can make it."

            Kurama opened his eyes slightly. "It's so nice to see you again… Hiei…" Kurama paused, struggling to speak. "I'm sorry I can't make it…"

            Satsuki approached and knelt down next to Kurama. Hiei couldn't hold back his tears. He refused to believe that Kurama was dying there right in front of his eyes. "Let me…" Satsuki whispered to Hiei. Glancing over at Satsuki, Hiei realized she was crying too. Satsuki held her hands above Kurama and closed her eyes. She focused her power and gave most of it to Kurama. "Healing tears." Satsuki muttered. Kurama's wounds healed and so did Kuwabara's. Kurama opened his eyes again. His green eyes full of life again.

            "Kurama!" Hiei couldn't help but smile.

            Botan flew out of the sky on her boat oar. "Yusuke! Everyone! You're okay!"

            "Yeah, no thanks to _you_!" Yusuke growled. "We all almost died!"

            "Well, enough of that. Everyone's okay so Koenma needs to see you Yusuke." Botan looked around and saw Kumiko lying dead on the ground. "Oh dear… we thought she might do something like this if worst came to worst."

            "Ah Yusuke, I'm glad you came." Koenma greeted.

            "Yeah, yeah. Cut the crap. Why did you wanna see me?" Yusuke demanded.

            "I'm guessing that everyone is alright, then?" Koenma asked, Yusuke nodded. "Well, Botan will take care of Kumiko's spirit, you can guarantee she isn't going to heaven, and she will also take Satsuki to jail.

            "What?! Why is Satsuki going to jail? She's helped us out so much." Yusuke exclaimed.

            "Satsuki is Kumiko's other form." Koenma explained calmly.

            "_WHAT_?!" Yusuke shrieked.

            "In your first battle, you hit the demon with your spirit gun, right? Well, surprisingly, it split the demon in two. Each one had different motives and personalities but they were the same being. It's only right that Satsuki is sentenced to some time in prison from her previous crimes. But it was very strange… Kumiko fell in love with Hiei and Satsuki fell for Kurama." Yusuke's eyes widened. "Yes, as strange as it may seem, it's true." 

            Meanwhile, on a cliff overlooking the ocean stood Hiei and Kurama. The light breeze blew through both of their hair as they stared out at the horizon. "I'm sorry, Kurama…" apologized Hiei. 

            Kurama shook his head. "It is all right, Hiei. I'm just glad you are safe now." Kurama closed his eyes, savoring all the memories they had had together.

            Hiei blushed and stared at the ground. "Ai shiteiru, Kurama…"

            Kurama looked over at Hiei in surprise. Smiling kindly, Kurama replied, "Ai shiteiru, Hiei." Kurama embraced Hiei for a long time. And then they both left the cliff to find the others.

***END***

Okay, that's a wrap! The first story I ever finished. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Syounara Bye Bye!


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